TIL: Today I Learned

[Kyriakos]

^Wow. As in what kind of tv? Anyway, i will look at it if it comes to that. 150 pounds is reasonable i suppose, yes, although still crap due to the bbc extortion

 

[Arakhor]

The BBC iPlayer will be password-protected in due course, but I don't know about the ITV player and 4 on Demand.

Personally, if the likes of the Mail and the Murdochs keep demanding that the BBC be privatised, I think it's doing a good enough job. Moreover, I'm more than happy to pay £12 a month to get no adverts on the only channels I watch.

 

[Tahuti]

TIL Rousseau was a "psychopath" (quoting, because it is probably more telling about the guy who invented the term).

Jean Jacques Rousseau's many false starts as medical student, clockmaker, theologian, painter, servant, musician, and botanist are noted, as well as his curious letter addressed to God Almighty which he placed under the altar of Notre Dame. Rousseau's expressed repugnance toward the normal sex act is also noted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mask_of_Sanity

 

[Commodore]

Apparently, it's up to £1000, plus any compensation and/or legal fees.

That actually seems like quite a steep penalty. I would think they would just force you to purchase the license or forfeit your TV.

 

[Arakhor]

That actually seems like quite a steep penalty. I would think they would just force you to purchase the license or forfeit your TV.

Well, given that they have to finance any licence evasion efforts, including paying for people to actually do the job, I can understand the need for fines. I imagine that a large number such as £1000 also serves as a deterrent for not offending in the first place.

 

[Lohrenswald]

TIL that

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Well, given that they have to finance any licence evasion efforts, including paying for people to actually do the job, I can understand the need for fines. I imagine that a large number such as £1000 also serves as a deterrent for not offending in the first place.

So do they make programming that's actually worth that kind of money?

 

[Kyriakos]

150 pounds/month buys you all the anti-Corbyn programs you may need

 

[Valka D'Ur]

150 pounds/month buys you all the anti-Corbyn programs you may need

Per MONTH???

Who or what is "Corbyn"?

 

[Samson]

So do they make programming that's actually worth that kind of money?

I believe so. They produce some really good stuff, and being able to watch programs without adverts has been very valuble, less so now with PVR's.

Per MONTH???

Who or what is "Corbyn"?

It is 150 GBP per year. Jeremy Corbyn is the leader of our opposition, and the most lefty politician we have had in the top flight for many a year.

 

[Kyriakos]

Sorry, 150 pounds/year. Maybe i was thinking in terms of future pounds worth

 

[Arakhor]

So do they make programming that's actually worth that kind of money?

You watch Doctor Who, don't you?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

You watch Doctor Who, don't you?

Take a read of my posts in the Doctor Who thread in A&E. I haven't been impressed with Doctor Who since the Paul McGann webisode "Night of the Doctor" and those few precious minutes in the 50th anniversary show when Tom Baker appeared as The Caretaker. I'm a Classic Who fan (and co-admin a forum dedicated to Tom Baker/the Fourth Doctor).

I don't subscribe to the Canadian channel that gets Doctor Who, because honestly, the stories and companions have been so bad that it's just not worth it. I've found another way to watch it.


Yes, there is a lot of good BBC programming - we tend to get some of it here via the American PBS stations. Some of it turns up on CBC. But I can't imagine paying an extra 150 pounds/year (that's quite a bit more in Canadian currency) on top of the insane prices we pay for cable every month.

What's next - a license to own a computer?

 

[Arakhor]

We also have zero adverts on the BBC, which is *definitely* worth a few pounds a month.

 

[Snerk]

TIL there has been made some serious attempts in domesticating the moose. Most notable in the Soviet Union. Some success was made but ultimately never commercially viable. Among the benefits over the horse are that it's a much more hardy animal in cold climates. A moose can learn to pull a load and carry a rider. It's stronger and less likely to get spooked, benefits to as a work animal but also useful in a military potential. Sweden once played with the idea of a moose cavalry unit. Moose can also be used for meat, milk and pelt production. One major downside is that it proved hard to fully domesticate the moose while feeding it a diet that didn't make them prone to disease. Chronic diarrhoea and a relatively shorten lifespan was common in the domesticated moose that didn't have access to the varied nutrition that the forrest provides.

 

[Kyriakos]

What about domesticated bear? Can be used as cavalry.

 

[Snerk]

Trying to domesticating any predatory animal larger than a cat presents a few very risky challenges. I'm also not sure a bear would be able to carry a rider.

That being said..

Spoiler :

 

[Traitorfish]

Bears are natural artillerymen, they're wasted in the cavalry.

 

[Phrossack]

TIL there has been made some serious attempts in domesticating the moose. Most notable in the Soviet Union. Some success was made but ultimately never commercially viable. Among the benefits over the horse are that it's a much more hardy animal in cold climates. A moose can learn to pull a load and carry a rider. It's stronger and less likely to get spooked, benefits to as a work animal but also useful in a military potential. Sweden once played with the idea of a moose cavalry unit. Moose can also be used for meat, milk and pelt production. One major downside is that it proved hard to fully domesticate the moose while feeding it a diet that didn't make them prone to disease. Chronic diarrhoea and a relatively shorten lifespan was common in the domesticated moose that didn't have access to the varied nutrition that the forrest provides.

The experiment was cancelled when a møøse bit the sister of the head researcher

 

[Snerk]

I'm sad it didn't succeed. Would have been so awesome.

(not photoshopped)

Spoiler :